NPN on Twitter

NPN Visitors

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Valleyfair will hold their first-ever Peanuts Celebration this June, the theme park has announced. Already a popular event at Knott's Berry Farm, the Peanuts Celebration has slowly been opening at other Cedar Fair parks over the last few years.

It will run at Valleyfair from June 8th through June 30th, and will give guests a ton of reasons to visit the park during their new signature festival.

The Peanuts Celebration is "uniquely dedicated to celebrating the
beloved Peanuts characters and invites guests to step inside the pages
of a Charles M. Schulz comic strip as the characters take over the park
for the very first time."

Each weekend the event runs the theme park will give visitors "new ways to play and interact with the Peanuts Gang throughout the park. Valleyfair will spend each weekend celebrating Charles Schulz's creation with enthusiasm
only found in Minnesota." "This event draws on the roots the Schulz family built in Minnesota,"
Raul Rehnborg, Valleyfair's General Manager, said, "We are sure that
guests will find the fun, joy, and humor in this event that Charles
Schulz portrayed in each of his comics."

During the Peanuts Celebration, Valleyfair will be filled with special decorations and feature comic-inspired photo opportunities, live shows, character interactions, exclusive merchandise, a silent dance party, special food and beverage, Pig Pen's animal meet and greet, drawing lessons, and even a Charlie Brown day (and guests named Charlie Brown get in free that day!). And that's not even all the special activities and events that will make up the Peanuts Celebration!

This video shows off just some of the fun that will take place at the Peanuts Celebration, to learn more about the event, head over to Valleyfair's website.

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Going into its third summer season The Park at OWA has announced a brand new dark ride, created by Sally Corporation and named Mystic Mansion.

According to Sally, the new ride will be a variation of their popular Ghost Blasters attraction, which has been installed in around 10 parks to date. The Park at OWA's version will feature "the best scenes and gags of past versions, plus the addition of a few new surprises. Four-passenger ride cars will take riders through 13 whimsical and spooky rooms of the haunted mansion, all rendered in glowing, surrealistically colorful ultraviolet paint." As with other Sally Ghost Blaster rides, passengers will blast ghosts for points (there will be upwards of 90 targets), creating an interactive and competitive aspect during the 3 minute ride.

The park wanted to build an indoor dark ride for a way to allow guests to enjoy an air conditioned attraction, giving them a break from the sun. A dark ride, especially one from Sally, is a great way to accomplish this.

“We knew we wanted an indoor attraction, something engaging and fun for families. When we decided on an interactive dark ride, there was no better choice than the specialists at Sally,” said Director of OWA Marketing/PR, Kristin Hellmich. “Of course we want quality, something that will stand the test of time, but what we’re really after is having park guests leave with a memory that they will want to relive, time and time again. And that’s what you get with a Sally ride."

Also new this summer at the park will be a non-rider pass, allowing visitors to enter the park with groups but not pay to ride. Paying guests will be given wrist bands.

At the greater OWA destination, a brand new Paula Deen restaurant, candy shop, competitive gaming center along with a 400 seat theater showing Legends in Concert, will open this year.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Fun Spot America Orlando has been teasing fans for a couple weeks about a new development that they are working on. This past Friday the park let everyone know that a large new interactive water play area will open this summer at the Orlando location.

These concept art drawings show the interactive water pad which is being created by Aquatic Design & Engineering. The expansive area will be a popular respite during the hot summer months in the Florida sun! Fun Spot America Orlando has long talked of building a water park, and perhaps this is their first step in that process.

There will be a total of 30 different interactive features when the project is complete, and guests will have unlimited access to them all under Fun Spot America's all-day arm band pass.

“We are excited to begin this next phase of our development plan and adding this amazing interactive water feature is the first step we have been working towards for some time now. We have had some very productive planning meetings working towards this new attraction and our fans have been very engaged with us along this journey. Orlando and central Florida is an amazing and beautiful area and we are very thankful to be a part of such a great community.” said John Arie Jr, CEO/Owner at Fun Spot America.

“When we approached the design for the interactive water feature, we took Fun Spot’s motto of ‘Safe-Clean-Fun’ to heart,” said Josh Martin, President and Creative Director of Aquatic Design & Engineering. “Not only is this water feature a fun way to beat the heat for any member of the family, but it also exceeds the highest levels of safety and sanitation. The nearly 4,000-square-foot interactive water feature includes state-of-the-art slip-resistant soft flooring, and it uses environmentally-friendly, advanced UV Ray technology to disinfect the water without harsh chemicals.”

The water play area will also use motion sensors to conserve energy, turning on the water features only when there are guests nearby.

This layout shows the individual paths of both Orbiter and Galaxy, each start at 75 feet above the ground. Mat racing slides are traditionally much smaller than this and features a few mild hills on the way down, but Schlitterbahn Galveston has sized-up the slides to a full 696 feet long.

The slides will be built out of a pairing of Schlitterbahn and WhiteWater West, containing enclosed slide sections from start to final splashdown. The paths will feature unique sections of slide that let multi-colored light into each side in alternating patterns. The main colors of the slide are "deep space blue, event horizon green and astronaut ice cream pink."

The new slides will be built on the top of an existing tower that already has three slides currently coming off of it - a great way to save costs and space!

New Jersey's Clementon Amusement Park has announced a big expansion for 2019 that will see the addition of 4 new family rides.

Marketed as bringing back "old fashioned family fun," the additions will be four "retro ride favorites." All of the rides will be family oriented, with some a bit more thrilling than others.
The additions, as explained in this video from the park, include a Dragon Coaster (a smaller ride for kids and families), a Pirate Ship, Tilt-a-Whirl and Scrambler.

These attractions, at least the flat rides, are common staples at amusement parks and fairs across the country, and are generally loved by all. The Tilt-a-Whirl will be perfect for smaller kids and their families, with the Scrambler a step up from that and finally the Pirate Ship giving some bigger swinging thrills.

The Dragon Coaster, while a small model, is greatly needed as the park's only other coaster is Hell Cat, a rough and tumble traditional wooden roller coaster that opened in 2004. Small kids who aren't ready for Hell Cat are sure to enjoy a trip on the Dragon Coaster.

I haven't seen any information about where in Clementon Park the new rides will be located. The park is quite small and densely packed, though there are a few existing open spaces that could be filled without moving into the parking area. The park is heavily trafficked for its picnic facilities, and I think the four new rides will help keep guests occupied on cooler days when the water park isn't a viable option.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

After recently finding out the official name of the long under-construction attraction at Islands of Adventure, which is Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure in case you've forgotten, this week also saw the release of more details of the ride.

The park released the above concept art for the ride, which mirrors the awesome aerials we've been following for months from Bioreconstruct on Twitter. The journey will take place in the forbidden forest outside of Hogwarts Castle, where riders will join Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class, and board enchanted motorbikes that look very similar to Hagrid's. Riders will be seated two across, one on the motorcycle and one in the side car.

The journey will be intended to safely show off all of the magical creatures in the forbidden forest, but of course not everything will go to plan during the roller coaster ride. Universal Orlando has confirmed that along the way you'll see Fluffy the three-headed dog, Cornish Pixies, Centaurs, and the Devil's Snare. There will also be a creature in the ride that's never been featured in the Harry Potter films, but it is being kept a secret for now.

Other facts released about the ride include the planting of 1,200 trees in the area of the ride to fully recreated the forbidden forest, that the ride will go both forward and backward, and that it will have a top speed of 50 miles per hour.

Check out the video embedded below for more about Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Islands of Adventure.

About NewsPlusNotes

NewsPlusNotes is a blog dedicated to the coverage of the amusement
industry. Our content runs the gamut from major industry headlines
to exclusive reports and items of historical significance. NewsPlusNotes
was founded in 2006, when Mike made the pivotal decision to share his
love of the industry with the world. Since then, what started out as
one enthusiast's hobby has grown to become one of the most widely known
and frequently updated sources of industry information. NewsPlusNotes--or
"NPN", as it is called by fans--now serves up content and commentary to
a global audience which continues to grow on a near daily basis, and its
reach has expanded to Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

NPN remained a solo effort until October 2008, when Mike welcomed three
new full-time contributors (Sabrina, Scott, and Carol) to the blog and the
"NPN team" was officially born. The team was again expanded in March of 2011 Kevin joined as a writer. Simply stated, we are a group of writers
who love the industry and it is our honor and privilege to share that
passion with our loyal readers and fellow enthusiasts. In so doing, we
strive to promote the enjoyment, celebration, and preservation of the
industry. We hope you enjoy our blog and welcome your feedback!

NewsPlusNotes is not affiliated with nor do we purport to
represent the views, interests, intentions, or policies of any
park, corporation, or entity. All original content found on
NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited to all original written
content, the NewsPlusNotes logo and all other static graphic and
web design elements comprising the site, and all photos from
NewsPlusNotes writers' personal collections, is the exclusive
property of the NewsPlusNotes team and may not be used, reproduced,
or distributed in any manner without the express written consent
of the individual author/creator. Read our complete
Terms of Use.

NewsPlusNotes Terms of Use

NewsPlusNotes is not affiliated with nor do we purport to represent
the views, interests, intentions, or policies of any park, corporation,
or entity. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the
individual writers. While we strive to achieve 100% accuracy in our
news reporting, errors inevitably will occur from time to time and we
make no guarantees that the facts presented in any given post will
remain unchanged over time. For complete, up-to-the-minute information
on any park, please visit that park's web site or contact the park directly.

All original content found on NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited to
all original written content, the NewsPlusNotes logo and all other static
graphic and web design elements comprising the site, and all photos from
NewsPlusNotes writers' personal collections, is the exclusive property of
the NewsPlusNotes team and may not be used, reproduced, or distributed in
any manner without the express written consent of the individual author/creator.

All non-original content found on NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited
to park logos, press releases, and photo contributions received from parks,
corporations, and individual readers, remains the property of the original
author/creator and may be subject to additional copyright, trademark, and/or
intellectual property protection. The lack of an explicit copyright notice
does not imply ownership by NewsPlusNotes or any of its writers unless the
content in question has been produced by one of our team members as described
in the paragraph above. NewsPlusNotes occasionally features guest writers,
and these individuals retain ownership of all original written and/or graphic
content that they publish on NewsPlusNotes. By contributing written or graphic
material to NewsPlusNotes, you are implying that you are the owner of this
material or are submitting it with the express consent of the owner. If you
feel that we've made an error or omission in attributing proper credit to a
particular piece of content found on NewsPlusNotes, please contact us and we
will gladly investigate the matter and make any necessary corrections.